No Such Things as Weaknesses
by stark18
Summary: After a night at the Barton farmhouse, the Avengers learn more about Tony. Tony!Whump Tony!Centric


"All I ask is for you guys to keep this a secret." Clint had brought the rest of the Avengers to what he said to be a 'safe place.' Once he landed the quinjet, the team followed Clint to what seemed to be a… farmhouse?

"What the hell is this place?" Tony asked, and quickly earned a glare from Clint, who simply responded, "What I just told you; a safe place." Tony rolled his eyes but didn't say anything else. As the group approached the house, Clint entered the house, and as soon as he was in what seemed to be the living room, two children came running in.

Over the screams, the Avengers stood with their jaws wide open when they heard what the children were saying, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" The only Avenger not fazed was Natasha, which shocked the others, seeing how close the assassins were. Then a pregnant woman came walking in with a smile plastered to her face as Clint took her in for a kiss.

After what seemed like hours, Steve broke the silence. "Sorry to intrude, but what exactly is… this?" He gestures around the room with wide arms, and hoped that Clint would explain why the team didn't know about this before. Thor was staring at the children, and Tony's head looked like it was about to spin off like a top, taking in everything. Bruce just stood behind Steve, not trying to bring any attention to himself, and Natasha was straddling the children in her arms.

Clint turned from his wife to the rest of the Avengers, "Guys, I would like to introduce you to my wife Laura, and two children, Lila and Cooper."

XXXXXXX

After Clint informed everyone about his 'second life,' the Avengers parted their seperate ways from the living room. Cap and Tony were out chopping firewood, Natasha and Bruce were taking showers, Thor left to 're-see his vision,' and Clint and his family were spending quality time together. Everything seemed to be going well until Cap and Tony began bickering, but to be honest, that was to be expected. Those two being alone together always resulted in an argument. I guess it's because the two were both stubborn and liked to do things their own ways, and because they are so different, their 'ways' always contradicted each other.

Clint was about to go break up the two, but Laura saw that Clint was truly enjoying building the deck with Cooper. Laura told him she would handle it, and Clint didn't want her to get involved but knew the time with his kids was limited, so he let her.

She strolled up to the two, just as the bickering died down and asked Tony if he could fix the tractor, which hadn't started up in years, but hey, if anyone could fix it, it was Tony Stark. As Stark disappeared to the shed, and Cap returned to the house, and Clint gathered the team together in the living room, while Laura began to prepare dinner.

After what seemed like only an hour, Tony, coated in motor oil and grease, came strolling into the house claiming he could sell the tractor for millions after the upgrades he made to it, earning him a couple eye rolls. After Tony cleaned up, everyone met up in the living room, including the kids, and engaged in friendly conversation.

"So, when did this whole setup happen?" Steve asked, his curiosity clawing at him.

"When I married Laura. I was only a SHIELD agent at the time, but still, it was a dangerous job. If any of SHIELD's enemies found out about her, they would surely use her against me. And now with the Avengers _and_ having my kids, I couldn't bring myself to tell _anyone._ Because who knows anymore, not that I don't trust you guys but…" Clint replied with a shrug, a little more cautiously for him.

"Makes sense, I always fear my enemies are gonna take Pep from me," Tony stated. "I wouldn't know what to do with myself if anything happened to her because of me."

"Yeah, I just can't risk losing everything I worked so hard for. I'm sorry I didn't tell you all, but this was something I just couldn't go around talking about," Clint said as Laura snuggled up into his side and their children played at their feet.

Lila piped up with a hopeful gleam in her eyes, "Daddy, do any of your friends have kids that we could play with?"

Clint replied with a rather sad look, "I don't think so Hun…" But then said in a jokingly tone, "But I'm sure Stark has some kids squandering around the world that he doesn't know about." Everyone in the room, except Lila and Cooper, gave a small laugh.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny," Stark stated, staring at the ceiling as Lila piped up again, but this time, she seemed confused.

"Wait, why wouldn't you know about your own children?" And Stark looked at Clint with an annoyed look and answered, "Well, you see, I'm super hot, and lots of girls like to, you know, have se-" Tony didn't get to finish as Clint literally dove over the couch and clamped a hand of his mouth. Lila was about to ask another question, before Laura - who got up from the couch however long ago - called, telling dinner was all set. With this Lila rushed into the dining room, forgetting about the conversation, and Tony licked Clint's palm to get him to remove his hand off his mouth.

"Hey! What the hell, man?" Clint exclaimed, pulling his hand away as fast as Thor could summon his lightning. He took his hand and brushed it all over Tony's face, and ran to the dining room quickly to join his daughter, before stopping half way to glare at Stark and warn him, "If you _ever_ talk to my kids 'bout the birds and the bees, I will maim you and do much more, but I'm not gonna say what I'm gonna do for the sake of my kid's childhood." With that, Stark stared at the group with a disgusted look, earning him a couple chuckles and "what-did-you-expect" faces, and went to the bathroom to wash his face while the rest of the Avengers and Cooper went to the dining room to prepare for a Barton Family Dinner.

XXXXXX

"So, we have two guest rooms upstairs, which means that you will have to share."

"Ughhh, noooo. Look, I don't share, which is why, in case you didn't figure it out, I gave you each your own _floor_ in the tower. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll take the biggest guest room you have, and for the lucky soul who would've stayed the night with me, the shed is very nice." Stark began to walk up the stairs before Steve's giant hands grabbed his shoulders and refused to let him go.

"Well, I think you can handle it for one night. Stop being a drama queen." Stark turned and glared at Steve, threw him a scowl, and listened to what Clint had to say about the sleeping arrangements.

Clint stared at Tony with an annoyed look, but continued to tell the rest of the Avengers on the plans. "Seeing how Bruce and Natasha have gotten... closer in the past few weeks, I figured you two could share a room. And that leaves," Clint snorts and has to hold back his laughter as Steve stares at him, and Tony has a pissed look on his face that could kill.

As the five of them make it upstairs to their respective rooms, Clint let the men borrow some of his sweats and shirts and Laura lends Natasha some pajamas. Once Clint goes into the master with Laura, Natasha and Bruce go into their room, while Steve and Tony go into the other room.

XXXXXX

Natasha crawls into bed first, as Bruce was in the bathroom for some time. Perhaps he was cleaning himself up for the rather awkward confrontation with Nat, or just trying to calm his nerves. To be honest, Bruce has never been in a situation like this, besides Betty, but that had been too long ago to remember how to do things…properly? No, not what you're thinking! He is known to be socially awkward, and just talking to a girl he has some feelings for seemed to be a challenge in itself. So, what you're thinking about now? Definitely not there yet.

Natasha began to worry about Bruce, noticing how quiet he's been. He's known to be quiet, but she didn't think he said a single word the entire day. So, when he came into the room, the first thing she wanted to ask was why he was so quiet, but she knew he wouldn't be so open to talk about it.

Instead of asking him what was wrong, she just patted the bed, gesturing him to lay down and get some much needed sleep. She didn't realize it, but she was also extremely tired. "Good night," she said, turning out the lights and falling fast asleep, just after hearing Bruce's, "Sweet dreams."

XXXXXXX

Steve and Tony didn't fall asleep as quickly.

"Never thought I'd share a bed with a man…"

"Please, don't make it more weird than it has to be."

"I'm not, I offered you the shed, but you refused, so you refusing just made it weird from the start. You know Cap, that was a really nice shed, are you sure you don't wanna give it a try?" Tony stated as he crawled into bed. Steve was standing in front of the mirror, clearly embarrassed at how tight Clint's clothes were on him.

"If you liked it so much, why don't you go out and enjoy the night in your so called 'really nice shed?'"

"Because I'm rich, and Tony Stark sleeping in a shed? No. Just no. Tony Stark sleeping in a _farmhouse_ is bad enough, but a _shed_ will ruin my reputation. You have nothing to lose however. C'mon, make the sacrifice play? I already made mine in New York!"

"No," was the only reply Tony got as Steve climbed into the bed next to him. The bed was barely big enough to fit both of them, so it was impossible for them to not touch, as hard as Tony tried to create some space.

After some time bickering about "move over," "no, you move over," came the argument over the blankets. Tony kept stealing all the blankets, claiming that even though he was physically smaller than the Captain, he shouldn't get less coverage. When Tony wrapped himself in a cacoon of blanket, Steve pulled a little too hard, swirling Tony so fast he fell out of the bed with a groan. He jumped back in bed with a huff, and as Steve apologized, Tony simply flipped him off and took _some_ of the blanket, not wanting a repeat. Eventually, they both fell asleep, but neither of them comfortably.

A couple hours of uninterrupted sleep seemed too good to be true for Tony. Tony was known to suffer from countless nightmares, but nobody except Pepper knew about them, and he planned to keep it that way. However, in this...predicament, it was impossible to avoid the Captain from finding out, which seemed to escape Tony's mind before agreeing to sleep in the same bed with him.

So, when the first flashbacks of Afghanistan began popping into his mind, he began to stir in his sleep. No big deal, right? Everyone stirred in their sleep. Then, when the wormhole all of a sudden showed up, all hell broke lose. He began panting, stirring, and gave a blood-curling scream before Steve woke up.

"Hey Tones? Tony, are you okay?" He wiped the crud out of his eyes and saw tears coming out of the billionaire's closed eyes and observed how fast he was breathing. He quickly took ahold of Tony's shoulders and shook him - not too violently - just enough to wake him. Tony, obviously unaware of who woke him, unintentionally threw his arms around Steve and let out long, heart-throbbing sobs, thinking it was Pepper, because he always slept with her, and she always knew how to calm him. Why would this time be different?

He started to make out big, firm muscles. Definitely _not_ Pepper. No, no, no, no, no. He shot right up, and wiped the tears out of his eyes. Steve turned on the bedside lamp, and turned to Tony with worry in his eyes.

"Tony, do you wanna tal-"

"No, please. This doesn't leave this room, okay? I'm fine, I need to go." And with that he left the room, leaving a confused Captain behind.

XXXXXXX

"Where's Tony," Clint asked from the kitchen. "I'm pretty sure he won't want to miss this awesome breakfast buffet."

"How was your night with him, Steve? Haha, that must have been real fun." Natasha stated, accompanied with an over-exaggerated eye roll.

"It was fine," Steve replied, but he was glancing around everywhere, clearly not focused on Natasha, looking for Tony.

"Well, speak of the Devil," Nat said as Tony strolled in, hair strewn everywhere and clothes wrinkled. He instantly flushed when he saw Steve, but covered it with his typical Stark-mask just as fast.

"I know, it's been so long! You've must've missed me so much! I mean, who doesn't?" Nat just rolled her eyes, but Cap gave him a worried look. Tony just stared at him, and continued upstairs.

"Tony, wait up! You want breakfast?" Clint asked as Tony was halfway up the stairs. "Yeah, just give me a minute to change," and with that he was gone, but Cap was quick to get up and follow him back to the room.

"Where'd you go last night?"

"Shed. Just don't tell anyone, don't wanna ruin my reputation," Tony stated with a smirk as he sat on the bed, looking past Steve, but not at him.

"You don't want let anyone know anything anymore."

"Look, Steve. You're a nice guy, but what you saw last night, it was nothing. I appreciate you worrying about me, I really do, but it's something I just can't and _won't_ talk about. Sorry, but…" Tony just shook his head, not sure what to say next. He just hoped the good ole Cap would drop the topic and move on.

"Well, I know that if I continue pushing this, you'll just push right back. But Tony, what I saw last night was _not_ okay, nobody should have to go through that. And I don't even know what you were dreaming about! Just know, it's not gonna get better if you don't talk about it. I totally understand if you don't wanna talk to me, but please, this could hurt the team if yo-"

"Oh, so now this is about me hurting the team. Wow, just... wow. Okay Cap, I see…"

"No, that's not what I meant!"

"No, I completely understand. Now, if you'll leave so I can get changed in peace, that would be just _incredible!"_ With that, Tony shoved the Captain out of the room, sat on the bed, put his head in his hands, and tried to forget everything that happened.

XXXXXXX

After enjoying Clint's "awesome breakfast buffet," it was time for the Avengers to pack up and leave the safety of the farmhouse. After all the thank you's to Laura, and the good bye's to Lila and Cooper, the team took off in the quinjet back to the Avengers headquarters.

Stark was uncomfortably quiet, which was observed by the team. "Were the eggs really that bad? I was actually quite proud of myself." Realizing that the question was meant for Tony, the rest of the team didn't answer Clint's attempt to make Stark talk. However, Tony didn't catch on that the question was directed to him, so he assumed someone else would answer.

When the quinjet remained quiet, Nat piped up, "Stark, your quietness is really starting to freak me out…"

Tony looked up from where his head was placed between his hands and gave a quick glance to her and shook his head, "Sorry, just tired. Had a tough time sleeping with the big friendly giant over there," as he tipped his head towards Steve.

Steve knew he was going to regret this instantly, but knew it was the best thing that the team knew what exactly happened. "Yeah, but I'm also sorry that you suffer nightmares every night…" As soon as he said that, all heads snapped to Tony, who glared at Steve, and if looks could kill, Steve would drop dead right then and there.

XXXXXXX

"It was the right thing to do! Tony please listen just for this one time! We are a team, and we want to help you, but we need you to want to help yourself. Just please unlock these damn doors!" Steve slammed on the door harder and harder, but they wouldn't budge. Tony locked himself in his workshop ever since the team arrived back at headquarters a couple hours ago. It was usual for Tony to do this, but not under these conditions. Not when he locked himself away _just_ for the sole purpose to stay away from them. As soon as the wheels touched the landing pad at the top of the headquarters, Tony booked it, despite everyone's attempts to stop him.

Of course Tony was embarrassed that the _Invincible Iron Man_ and the _Great Tony Stark_ suffered from nightmares every night, but he felt more betrayed by Steve. When Tony pleaded to Steve not to tell the group, he would've thought he would honor it, but he guessed that if the leader didn't respect his privacy, neither did the rest of the team. It was a true shame, Tony was actually just beginning to consider them not only friends, but _family._ Which trust me, was a hard category to fall under, after all Tony's been through. I mean, he considered _Pepper, Rhodey_ and even _JARVIS_ to be family, his constants. To be considered family was a high honor in Tony's world.

After Obie, he seemed to have a hard time trusting people, but after the Avengers gained his trust, he knew they meant more to him than just friends. He knew that Steve was just trying to help, but it still stung, and being as stubborn as Tony, he wouldn't let it go as fast as others might.

The knocking on the lab door died down… when did that stop? Tony must've been so far in thought that he didn't even notice a nervous Pepper standing in the doorway. When he looked up, she took that as a confirmation she could come over without startling him, because she knew just how sensitive he could be in these situations.

"Tony, Hun? I know what you're gonna say, but please be honest with me when I ask; are you okay?"

Tony looked up with her, tears threatening to burst through, but he used all his strength and concentration to not allow that to happen. He shook his head, and she hugged him tighter than when the Hulk had grabbed him after falling out of the wormhole: pretty damn tight. He couldn't help it, the tears started falling, but he refused to try to stop them because it felt so good to just let go and uncover the mask. She pulled away, grazed her thumbs across his cheeks, wiping away the tears, and pulled him into a long, emotional kiss.

When she pulled away once more, the tears had stopped, and she asked one question, "Wanna talk?"

XXXXXXX

After explaining everything what happened at 'a random farmhouse,' she simply stated, "I love you, no matter what."

"Pep, I just don't know what to do. I love you, and I love this team so much. I can't afford to lose either, but now they know. They now know my weakness, and I know they'll say they won't, but they will look and treat me differently now."

"Hun, no they won't. They are all upstairs right now, worried about you, not your weakness- which isn't even a weakness! Tony, everyone has nightmares, they are a part of life, and you can't do anything to avoid them! Hell, I have nightmares, but when I wake up and see you next to me, I know I have nothing to fear, knowing you will always be there to protect me."

Tony just nodded along, still unsure with how he currently felt about the whole situation. He still felt embarrassed of course, but talking to Pepper about what happened definitely helped. And knowing she at least didn't look at him differently made him feel tremendously better. However, he still had to face the team.

Pepper waited patiently for a response, knowing Tony was just trying to figure out what he was going to say.

"I love you so much, Pep. You are definitely up there with JARVIS…"

Pepper let out a laugh, knowing that Tony was in a much better state compared to what she had first walked in on. She took ahold of his hand, and led him to the door, in which he reluctantly passed through. When they entered the common living area, where all the Avengers were patiently waiting- hey, when did Thor get back?- he gave them all a glance, sat down, and said "I'm ready to talk."

XXXXXXX

"Before New York, Afghanistan was all I would dream about. You may or may not know the whole back story, but being tortured definitely took a toll on me. I was not only afraid of losing my life, but endangering thousands of innocent people when I would not survive long enough to shut down the weapons manufacturing department of Stark Industries." Tony looked around, and surprisingly, no one said anything, just stared at him with sympathetic eyes. He didn't know how to feel about this, thinking that he was right in which they would treat him differently. But he figured that they were just being respectful and maybe perhaps, not try to set off any triggers after receiving all this sensitive information.

He went on, "After New York though, the nightmares switched to the Chitauri and, of course, the wormhole. I think, at first, I had a handle on it. But as more and more people started asking me about my experience with being in a whole 'nother universe, it made me realize just how close I was to losing everything. For me, being in the wormhole was not what worried me. What worried me was how Pepper, Rhodey, all of you, the company, etcetera was going to react to my death. Just imagining Pepper, all alone…" He put his head in his hands, and Pepper rubbed small circles into his back. He looked up and back at her, grateful she stayed with him, then looked at the rest of the team. They offered him gentle smiles, and he could tell they appreciated him telling them information he wouldn't think about telling anyone else.

Bruce, surprisingly, was the first to speak, "Thank you, for real Tony. I know it must be so difficult to open up like you just did, even after everything you went through. I'm so sorry you had to go through all this, but I just want to you to know that I will not look at you any differently."

"As I, Son of Stark. You are incredibly valiant, and prove to be much stronger than most of the people of Midgard. To be able to express such emotion and share such feelings, I appreciate it with upmost gratitude." Tony sent a small, but completely real smile towards both Thor and Bruce.

"Tony, as much as a pain in the ass you are, you are such an important aspect to this team. You are the one who keeps us together in the worst of times, with your jokes and sarcastic comments. As annoying as they can be, and as your ego only seems to grow, if you were not on this team, I probably wouldn't have been able to consider this team my family." Natasha's comment hit hard with Tony, seeing as she, of all people, considered _him,_ of all people, part of her family. He felt tears coming but refused to show them.

"Tones, you know I was joking about maiming you if you talk to my kids about the birds and the bees right? Because honestly, I would never intentionally lay a single hand on you to harm you. Yeah, maybe for some playful sparring or some brotherly love, but never to hurt you. Like Nat said, you are so important. I love spending time with you, I mean, who else would have to balls to pull pranks on Fury? Certainly not Cap over here, no offense Steve, but your too much of a goody two shoes. But Tony, for real, whether I'm pulling pranks with you, or on the battlefield, I will not look at you any different. And I will pinky promise if you want, or you can trust my word."

Almost on instinct, Tony pulled out his pinky finger, and the two wrapped their pinkies together and Clint let out a long laugh, while Tony put on a small smirk.

"Tony." Cap's voice snapped Tony back into focus, and Clint pulled back. Tony looked over at Steve, who was twiddling his thumbs. Steve looked up and began to talk. "You are a brother to me Tony. If I ever lost you, I don't know what I'd do with myself. You are worth so much, and you prove that with every single breath you take. I never meant to embarrass you, but I knew that once you opened up, you would trust us, and that was the last piece to the puzzle. I knew once we gained your trust, the bond we made would be unbreakable. Look, I'm not too good with apologies, but I'm hoping you will accept it, and that you will take the time to give me a quick hug."

Right on cue, Steve stood up, arms stretched wide. And you know what, Tony let loose the tears, ran straight to Steve and enjoyed every second of the embrace. As Tony felt more arms wrap around him, he knew that this was what it was like to have a family. And there was no way he was going to ever let this feeling go.


End file.
